On behalf of your students - most of whom probably do not
realise just how fortunate they are to have you right now -
thankyou for sticking it out. One day they will look back
and remember your classes. I fondly remember one or two of
my teachers at each of various stages of my schooling. They
helped light a fire in me that keeps me learning even now.

In the eyes of many - myself included - teaching should be
seen as one of the most honoured of professions. I
certainly did not mean to imply that there are no dedicated
teachers anymore. But faced with the interference of
political correctness idiots, civil libertarians, political
point scorers and parents who take no responsibility for the
raising/teaching of their own children, I honestly don't
know how many of you continue to cope.

BTW - from observation our ed system is no better over here.

--

Cheryl & the Cats in OZ
o o o o
( Y ) ( Y )
Boofhead Donut
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau


"Leigh Harris" wrote in message
...
: "CATS" wrote
: They are "teachers" with a job, not a profession or a
: "calling". Sadly there are all too many of them
everywhere
: today.
:
: I agree that there are a number of bad teachers out there,
but as a current
: member of one of the most undervalued professions, I would
like to point out
: that I believe they are still in the minority. I am a high
school English
: teacher (20+ years) and I take great pleasure in
challenging my students to
: improve and then seeing them actually achieve that
improvement. I also have
: no problem in admitting that I too am human and prone to
mistakes or lack of
: knowledge. I am as able to check something in a dictionary
as anyone else.
: If I make a mistake in a handout or on the board, I
congratulate those who
: pick it up, admiring their proofreading skills. Anyone who
is so insecure
: that they can't take correction, especially from a child
or teenager, should
: never enter a classroom, in my opinion!
:
: I know, the whole teaching profession was not being bagged
in this thread.
: It's just that there is a lot of that going on in my home
state at the
: moment, mostly thanks to the stupid government itself. The
story goes
: something like this - Let's force teachers to implement a
new type of
: curriculum, whether they like it or not, then dump it just
as they've put
: years of preparation into it. Also, let's make that change
the week before
: the new school year starts and expect them to still
provide a good education
: to their senior students. I'm waiting for the part nearer
the end of the
: year when we then blame all the teachers for not getting
top results from
: their students. Add to that the ridiculous notion of
students having a say
: in teacher pay/bonus pay and you see the education climate
here at the
: moment. (Hmm, I don't like my teacher. If I don't perform
so well, or say
: she's done a bad job and I could have done better with
another teacher, she
: gets less pay. Great system!) The mind boggles.
:
: Okay, I'm off to mark some student work now, if I can
figure out which of
: the three possible systems it is that they want me to use
today (yes, I'm
: serious about that...)
:
: --
: Leigh Harris
: Perth, Western Australia
:
: